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Edward
Edward is a blue mixed-traffic tender engine. Edward is one of the oldest engines on Sodor and is occasionally made fun of for his age. Despite this setback, he is also very wise and optimistic and spreads his knowledge and encouraging attitude towards the other engines. Biography Edward was built by Sharp, Stewart and Company at their Atlas Works in Glasgow, Scotland in 1896. He worked on the Furness Railway's Cumbrian Coast Line before coming to Sodor on loan with other engines in 1915 to assist with the building of the North Western Railway. The Furness had found him to be a "shy steamer" and were not interested in getting him back when his work was completed. In 1921, they sold him to the NWR for a nominal sum, who have, by careful maintenance and extensive modifications, turned him into a reliable engine. By 1923, Edward was confined to Vicarstown Sheds, to the delight of the other engines, who claimed that he was too old and weak to work. Edward was eventually let out again and proved that what he lacked in strength, he made up for in work by pushing a stubborn Gordon and his heavy goods train up Gordon's Hill in 1923. In 1923, when Thomas was fed up with fetching coaches for the big engines, Edward offered Thomas to take his trucks. However, Thomas, having no experience with trucks, was pushed down a hill and diverted into a siding. Later in 1925, Edward helped James double-head a passenger train when the splendid red engine was acting out. His only surviving brother is Mickey. Personality Edward is very kindhearted, mature, wise and keen to help a friend in need. The small engines trust him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He is a hard worker too and always does his best to finish a job. If ever an engine misbehaves or acts out, it is Edward that the Fat Controller turns to in order to soothe things out. Unfortunately, the big engines, especially Gordon, often see Edward as old-fashioned and slow. While it is true he is the oldest engine on the North Western Railway (which he helped build), he has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of working as hard as any engine. He and BoCo were the only engines who looked after Bill and Ben and knew how to put them in their place should they misbehave. Like any other wise old engine, he stands for no nonsense from anyone, especially from the bigger engines. Technical Details Basis The Reverend W. Awdry stated that Edward is based on a heavily modified Sharp, Stewart and Co. "Larger Seagull" K2 Class, supplied to the Furness Railway in 1896. Sodor "historian" Martin Clutterbuck notes that Edward bears a close resemblance to an LNER D34 "Glen" (NBR Reid Class K) 4-4-0 and an LNER D20 from the London and North Eastern Railway. The Reverend W. Awdry also used an LMS Class 2P to represent Edward on his model railway. Visible Crovan's Gate Works modifications are: making the rear splashers flush with the cab, removal of the coupling rod splashers, new cab windows as opposed to cutaways in his cab side sheets and square cab lookouts as opposed to the original round ones. In both the Railway Series and television series, Edward is depicted with a Fowler tender. The orange and brown tender engines are also based on this design. Livery Edward is painted in NWR bright blue with red and yellow lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow. In the Railway Series, he carries two builder's plates on the sides of his cab. It can be assumed that, before arriving on Sodor, Edward was painted in FR Indian red with black lining, the initials "FR" painted on the sides of his tender and black wheels. Appearances * Henry * Speed * Grouping * Insanity (stock footage cameo) * Headquarters * Brakes (mentioned) * Branch Lines (cameo) * Wendell * History (does not speak) * Mistreatment (does not speak) * Strike * Ghost audio files Whistle Category:Steam Engines Category:4-4-0 Category:Male Characters Category:Standard Gauge Category:Edward's Branch Line Category:Tender Engines Category:The steam team Category:Sodor Stories Category:Protagonists Category:Characters